Now Playing
Hamilton
April 4-May 6, 2023
Age Recommendation: Ages 10+
Run time: 2 hours and 46 minutes, including one intermission.
Hamilton [by Lin-Manuel Miranda] is the story of America’s Founding Father Alexander Hamilton, an immigrant from the West Indies who became George Washington’s right-hand man during the Revolutionary War and was the new nation’s first Treasury Secretary. Featuring a score that blends hip-hop, jazz, blues, rap, R&B and Broadway, Hamilton is the story of America then, as told by America now.
Photos Courtesy Hennepin Theatre Trust and Broadway
FFTC received tickets in exchange for promotion. Reviews are our own.
Coming Soon
Nutcracker! Magical Christmas Ballet
November 30-December 2, 2023
Age Recommendation: Ages 6+.
Run time: 2 hours, with intermission
Experience the extraordinary international cast and Ukrainian Principal Artists performing at the peak of classical European Ballet. Be transported by the magic of jaw-dropping acrobatics, larger than life puppets and stunning hand-crafted sets and costumes
Kid-Friendly Theater, Music and Performing Arts in the Twin Cities
Plan ahead to take kids to the theatre!
The Nutcracker and Beyond: 2023’s Best Christmas Shows Ever!
From the Nutcracker to A Christmas Carol, we
Disney’s Aladdin
December 5-10, 2023
Age Recommendation: Ages 6+.
Run time: 2 hours, with intermission
Discover a whole new world at Disney’s Aladdin, the hit Broadway musical. From the producer of The Lion King comes the timeless story of Aladdin, a thrilling new production filled with unforgettable beauty, magic, comedy and breathtaking spectacle. It’s an extraordinary theatrical event where one lamp and three wishes make the possibilities infinite
Disney’s The Lion King
March 27-April 28, 2024
Age Recommendation: Ages 6+.
Run time: 2 hours, 30 minutes with intermission
Giraffes strut. Birds swoop. Gazelles leap. The entire Serengeti comes to life as never before. And as the music soars, Pride Rock slowly emerges from the mist. This is Disney’s The Lion King, making its triumphant return to the Orpheum Theatre!
Table of Contents
Past Review: To Kill A Mockingbird
To Kill a Mockingbird has to be one of my absolute favorite novels ever written. To see it as a Broadway show at the Orpheum couldn’t be more perfect.
What to Know Before You Go
- To Kill A Mockingbird has a very heavy plot. There is a lot of learning the Scout does throughout the play about how the world works. It would be very helpful to give a simplified version of what happens. You can look it up online if you haven’t read the book. The innocence of Scout makes the subject matter much easier to digest, but it is heavy. And it went over one of my girls’ heads. The other got it, but she had read the book.
- The actors playing the kids, Scout and Jem and Dill, lighten the mood greatly. Even if your kids don’t quite understand what is going on, the kids are very entertaining.
- There is a disturbing scene of men in hoods. I think it’s during the 1st Act. The men are outside the jail wanting to hurt Tom Robinson and covered their faces with gunny sacks. It creeped one of my girls out. If you have a sensitive kiddo, this may be a little too much.
- Age Recommendation for To Kill a Mockingbird: Personally I recommend this show for anyone who has read the book starting at age 12 and up, but you know your kiddo the best. Orpheum Theatre invites kids ages 5 and older into their shows as long as they are respectful theatre-goers. But this one is a LONG show and has lots of talking. It may move a little slow for some of our younger ones.
- Get to the Orpheum early. Once the play begins, the doors will remain closed for a full 23 minutes before they open again. If you are delayed, the Orpheum has the show playing on a screen. And once the ushers are given the cue, they try to seat you as unobtrusively as possible.
By the way, the ushers at the Orpheum as incredibly helpful. During those first 23 minutes, I got a tickle in my throat and had to leave. I felt horrible, but I thought it would be worse to disturb the audience with my constant coughing. As I got out of the auditorium and into the hallway, an usher met me and asked if I was okay. I told her I had a tickle that wouldn’t go away. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a cough drop that she had brought for herself. Another usher helped me get a water from the bar because I was so discombobulated.
I was so impressed by the care I was being shown.
How to Take To Kill a Mockingbird With You
While you can’t take the show itself home with you, the fun doesn’t have to end when you leave the Orpheum.
- Read the book or watch the movie (I recommend both).
- Visit George Floyd Square and learn from a guide about racism in Minnesota from someone else’s lived experience. There are a number of guides from whom you can learn. I took my kids there after the riots calmed down a little bit and it was so sobering.
- Learn about race at the Science Museum of Minnesota.
Show and Ticketing Information
To Kill a Mockingbird runs December February 14-19 at the historic Orpheum Theatre in downtown Minneapolis.
Ticket prices range start at $40.
Upcoming Broadway Events - 2022/2023 Season
Tootsie
June 20-25, 2023
Age Recommendation: Ages 10+
Run Time: 2 hours and 35 minutes, with one intermission.
This laugh-out-loud love letter to the theater tells the story of Michael Dorsey, a talented but difficult actor who struggles to find work until one show-stopping act of desperation lands him the role of a lifetime.
Jagged Little Pill
August 8-13, 2023
Age Recommendation: 14+
Run Time: 2 hours, 40 minutes with one intermission
Joy, love, heartache, strength, wisdom, catharsis, life — everything we’ve been waiting to see in a Broadway show — is here in the exhilarating, fearless new musical based on Alanis Morissette’s world-changing music.
Beetlejuice
September 19-24, 2023
Age Recommendation: Ages 10+
Run Time: 2 hours, 35 minutes with one intermission
It’s showtime! Based on Tim Burton’s dearly beloved film, this hilarious musical tells the story of Lydia Deetz, a strange and unusual teenager whose whole life changes when she meets a recently deceased couple and a demon with a thing for stripes. With an irreverent book, an astonishing set and a score that’s out of this Netherworld, Beetlejuice is “SCREAMINGLY GOOD FUN!” (Variety). And under its uproarious surface (six feet under, to be exact), it’s a remarkably touching show about family, love and making the most of every Day-O!
-all quotes from Hennepin Theatre Trust Website
Upcoming Broadway Events - 2023/2024 Season
Girl from the North Country
October 8 – 14, 2023
Age Recommendation: Ages 12+
Run Time: 2 hours and 30 minutes, with one intermission.
Company
November 14-19, 2023
Age Recommendation: Ages 8+
Run Time: 2 hours and 45 minutes, with one intermission.
Disney’s Aladdin
December 5-10, 2023
Age Recommendation: Ages 6+
Run Time: 2 hours and 30 minutes, with one intermission.
Mrs. Doubtfire
December 19-24, 2023
Age Recommendation: Ages 8+
Run Time: 2 hours and 35 minutes, with one intermission.
Funny Girl
January 16-21, 2024
Age Recommendation: Ages 10+
Run Time: 2 hours and 40 minutes, with one intermission.
Mamma Mia!
February 6-11, 2024
Age Recommendation: Ages 10+
Run Time: 2 hours and 40 minutes, with one intermission.
Clue: A New Comedy
February 27-March 3, 2024
Age Recommendation: Teens & Adults 13+
Run Time: 90 minutes
Disney’s The Lion King
March 27-April 28, 2024
Age Recommendation: Ages 6+
Run Time: 2 hours and 30 minutes, with one intermission
MJ: The Musical
May 14-26, 2024
Age Recommendation: Ages 8+
Run Time: 2 hours and 30 minutes, with one intermission
Parents Guide to Broadway Shows at the Orpheum Theatre
Three things I think you should consider as a parent.
- Length: Most shows run really long. Like over 2 hours. Usually there is a 15 minute intermission, but you will want to consider the length of the show before you purchase tickets. And check into it because I went to Come From Away and it was just under an hour and a half with no intermission.
- Setting: Most of the touring Broadway shows are not specifically designed for kids. Many of them are appropriate for kids, but when developing a show, the producers, directors, and actors may or may not consider a how a sensitive child (or any person) could react.
- How to Dress. In the actual house (where the show takes place), it was very comfortable–even a bit on the too-warm side in the winter and on the too-cool side in the summer. The hallways and the skyways are pretty cool. Dress in layers.
If you are interested in more theatre options for you and your kids, FFTC has collected them on our Performing Arts Calendar Page. Click here to learn more about what is happening on stage in the Twin Cities.